I've never hunted on the Chesapeake but I hunt out on Lake Michigan 2 miles offshore for old squaws. When my buddies and I wanted to hunt out there the first thing we did was hire a guide. If you can do that that really shortens the learning curve And saves you a time of time and trouble. We use a 22 foot ranger as a tender boat a one-man MLB layout boat and about five dozen decoys. About 1 Dozen of the decoys started life out as old squaws the rest are repainted mallards and Widgeon's. We use a small flashing light that was originally designed for bikers when we set the layout boat in the dark it really helps you to keep track of the boat when putting out decoys. We are all experienced diver hunters on the bay but usually hunt in 2 to 4 feet of water It's definitely a lot trickier setting decoys and a layout boat in 70 feet of water. Again that's why I recommend going with a good local guide first and bring your video camera video the hunt the setting of the decoys everything that would really help you figure things out.

We hunt just below you down here in st Marys county. For seaducks you can hunt them out of a white fishing boat if you want. The scoters and oldsquaw are used to all the boats on the bay. As for decoys it is best to run longlines. A lot of hunters down here use everything from old mallards painted black, to y boards. Even just black crab pot bouys mixed in works fine. The easiest route is probably to go with just painting up a couple dozen old mallards. You can find them on craigslist if you don't have any. As for oldsquaw paint a dozen old pintails. This should all be relativily cheap,and it works great.